Bissell Spot Cleaner

Other than normal cleaning, cooking and patio blowing – which all seems to be endless – nothing much going on around here.

I did take the little Bissell spot cleaner for a ride in my bedroom and wanted to show you how it went.

What I Love

It’s so easy to store and retrieve this little piece of machinery.  It’s not heavy or bulky.  Even someone with a bad back can maneuver this puppy.

For a small guy it does a really good job!  I went around the edges of our cream colored bedroom rug.  It’s just the wear and tear sections, not the whole thing that looked bad.  It did a pretty good job.

What I Used

When we purchased the Bissell, it came with some of their brand upholstery cleaner and some OxyClean.  For this project I used a bit of the Oxy and a bit of Dawn detergent.  Dawn is the best thing ever invented by man.  I could do a whole blog post on how I use Dawn.

I didn’t want a lot of sudsy build up on the rug and something easy to suck up so I stuck to those two ingredients in a tank of hot water.

How it Turned Out

I didn’t get a lot of waste water so I’m assuming all that stayed in the rug.  Whoops.  I left the fan running in the room all day and toweled off the edges for any obvious water.  By evening it was completely dry and looks good.  Better than when hub does the big job with the big Bissell.

What I’m Eating

Skinny Taste is one of my go-to recipe sites and years ago I bought Gina’s first cookbook.  With quite a bit of modifying, the BLT salad is one of my favorites.  I guess you could say I don’t really use her recipe but I’m inspired by it.

You can see the real deal here, but here’s how I change it:

• Costco real bacon bits heated in the microwave for a few seconds.  A ton of bacon on my salad is not necessary.  Just a bit for flavor.
• Mayo isn’t going on my salad.  No thank you.  I know I’m crazy.  The yummy Greek yogurt ranch I recently shared worked perfectly.  Side note: that dressing turned out a little too runny and didn’t thicken up in the fridge.  Next time I’ll use less milk.
• Avocado isn’t not normally something I have on hand, so I skipped it.

Full disclosure here.  Avocado probably makes this salad satiating.  But guess what I found out?  So does adding a side of ciabatta!  Hot and crusty and with butter.  I didn’t need to eat again for hours.

What I’m Reading

Paradise Sky is the latest book by one of my favorite authors, Joe R. Lansdale.  You know what I love about Joe?  He has taken me back in time to places that remind me of my past or my ancestors or places I have no knowledge of.  Not like extravagant places.  Places like East Texas.

Don’t poo poo me yet.  His Hap and Leonard series is so good they made a TV show from it.  The show is okay but doesn’t come close to the books.

I’m going to talk more at length some time about Lansdale, but for now, if you see one of his books and you want to completely be somewhere else, read it!

Paradise Sky is based on true characters after the Civil War and their crazy and violent adventures.  It’s good but I didn’t love it like I love some of his others.  Not sorry I read it though.

On audio I listened to a children’s book, Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins who wrote the fab Hunger Games series.  It was pretty mature for a children’s book and I really liked it but if you’re not up for that much of a break in reality, it might not be your cup of tea.

The last of the John March series by Peter Spiegelman is Red Cat.  The audio version I listened to is narrated by Elliott Gould who did a really good job.  The production quality isn’t great with the volume going up and down, but I did enjoy the series and recommend it.

Wrap Up

It feels like everyone is having a bit more exciting summer than I am.  Right now I’m happy in my cozy routine.  Stretching a little, exercising a little, doing some crossword puzzles.  You know, the life of a retired person.

God bless you for a wonderful week ahead and thanks for being here.